Shadow's Force

SHADOW’S FORCE SHADOW ISLAND SERIES: BOOK FOUR MARY STONE LORI RHODES Copyright © 2023 by Mary Stone All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Created with Vellum This book is dedicated to those who lost loved ones in a deadly storm. CONTENTS Description Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 What’s Next? Shadow Island Series Acknowledgments About the Author DESCRIPTION Which is more dangerous...Mother or Human Nature? Twelve hours earlier, Interim Sheriff Rebecca West was enjoying a casual lunchtime burger. Now she’s preparing for a hurricane headed straight for Shadow Island. While hauling sandbags and calming town officials, the last thing she needs is a stunned man stumbling into the sheriff’s department. Covered in blood. Clearly in shock, the man doesn’t know who he is and only mutters about needing help finding a mermaid. Is he distraught because he killed someone or because he witnessed a horrific event? Rebecca needs to find out—and fast. Fighting the torrential rain and wind, Rebecca discovers the victim, posed and decorated like a mermaid. Is the catatonic man the killer? Or is something more sinister at work? With very little support, she has to work quickly before the island is completely cut off from the mainland and any evidence is destroyed by the natural disaster. It’s all hands on deck as Rebecca and the entire department scramble to prepare for a hurricane...and solve a murder. From its enigmatic beginning to the nail-biting conclusion, Shadow’s Force—the fourth book in the Shadow Island Series by Mary Stone and Lori Rhodes—will make you fear the storms of nature and love. 1 Rain covered the town like gray gauze, making everything blurry and muted. It was a dark and stormy night… He scoffed at the idea of such an overused line being used in connection with him. Nothing in his entire damn life had ever been dramatic enough to be part of some epic story. Sure, his had always been good…safe. Stable job, nice house, and a woman who loved him. The ideal for ’most anyone. Most people would think he’d had it all. Emphasis on had. He rushed to unlock the door of the Maserati he’d been so proud of, not caring that his blood-soaked hands would mar its pristine finish. Slippery fingers struggling to grip the key fob, he glanced over his shoulder toward the house. Her house. He looked away. With the car finally unlocked, he ducked into its protective shell to escape the swirling winds and sheets of pounding rain. He struggled against the powerful gusts to pull the driver’s door closed. Peering through the downpour, the outline of her home was barely visible. Heart threatening to break his ribs, he flipped on the windshield wipers and backed out of the driveway. Cranked to the highest setting, the wipers struggled to fight back the storm’s assault. The Italian luxury car’s powerful LED headlights strained against the onslaught to illuminate the road. Worried about the rapidly deteriorating conditions, he attempted to switch on the lane assist feature the salesman had spent more than fifteen minutes touting. It wouldn’t activate. Right. Low visibility rendered it inoperable. What the hell was it even good for, then? Against common sense, he pressed the accelerator, his gut screaming to get away. He had to tell someone what he’d seen. What I’ve done. The car dinged, angry that he hadn’t yet buckled his seat belt. As he rounded the bend at the end of the road, he reached for the strap. The car drifted. Panic surged as he gripped the steering wheel again, his crimson hands slipping over the leather as he desperately attempted to correct the spin. Steer into the slide. The words from his driver’s education class so many years ago whispered through his mind. His slick hands knew what to do, rapidly switching places, until the fishtail straightened out. Relief washed over him, and he craned his head in a small circle, unknotting the muscles in his shoulders and neck. What have I done? How am I going to explain? There would be time for those thoughts later. First, he had to— A downed tree appeared through the haze, sprawled across the road, and his candy-apple red car slammed into the thick trunk before he could react or even blink. Bang! The airbag exploded, punching him harder than Mike Tyson’s fist as it stopped his unbuckled body from its forward pursuit. His head snapped back and… * * * Minutes or hours later, he blinked awake and immediately wished he hadn’t. Pain was everywhere. His neck, his ribs, his arms. Even his face pulsed with every heartbeat. Where am I? And how did I get here? His knees screamed as he moved his legs away from the collapsed dash. He’d been in a crash, that much was clear. And was that gas he smelled? I need to get out of here. Swatting the nylon of the airbag out of his way, his hand came down on a different type of material. Plastic. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a poncho left in the car for times such as these. Based on the sound of rain pounding the roof of the vehicle, he’d need it. Groaning against the movements of his arms, he pulled the poncho over his head before attempting to open the door. It was stuck. When he muscled it with a forceful nudge of his shoulder, it finally opened, and